Beyond the Bells

St Mark’s isn’t an 8.30 – 3.25 place – we encourage students to become part of the bigger community.

St Mark’s is committed to providing well planned and organised co-curricular and extra-curricular activities to all students throughout the year. We strive to provide opportunities to suit a range of student interests and abilities, and to encourage students to try new pursuits.

Students can participate in both interhouse and interschool programs at Primary and at Secondary School, with opportunities in a variety of fields, including sporting, cultural and academic activities.

Students in Junior, Middle and Senior School may also be offered the opportunity to represent the School at academic competitions, such as Perth Philosothon, Da Vinci Decathlon, Academic All Stars, Numero Challenge, Western Australian Debating League (WADL), the World Scholars Cup and a variety of academic olympiads and competitions. This gives students the chance to challenge and extend themselves in new areas.

St Mark's Junior School students also participate in activities through the Independent Primary School Heads of Australia (IPSHA). This includes an Arts Performance event, Chess, Visual Art Exhibition and Speaker's Challenge.

Older students (age 14+) can choose to participate in the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, a world leading achievement award for young people, bringing together practical experiences and life skills to create committed global citizens and equipping young people for life.

The Arts has many offerings to suit all sorts of creative souls from the annual stage productions to music ensembles and choirs.

The well-established Music program offers individual and group tuition, as well as the opportunity to join one of four choirs and become a part of a wide variety of ensembles. Individual lessons in instrumental music are held once a week, during school hours and students can begin lessons in Pre-Primary. New music students are welcomed at any time throughout their time at St Mark’s.

The Lionheart Youth Theatre Company focuses on students in Middle and Senior School and provides students with the opportunity to be involved in a variety of ways beyond the major annual productions. Lionheart meet after school during term times.

The Lionhearts Cubs program provide an avenue for younger students to get involved in drama.

A thriving Tech Club and a Wardrobe/Make Up Club provide opportunities for those who want to be involved, but prefer to stay behind the scenes.

St Mark’s believes that camps and tours form an integral and sequential part of our curriculum and provide experiences and activities central to students’ academic and personal development.

By participating in camps and tours, students are given the opportunity to experience a wide of range of activities beyond the usual school settings. Students are able to interact with their teachers and peers in a setting vastly different from the classroom.

Camps offer broad based, experiential education in new environments which are diverse. They are designed to develop a variety of skills and values, including: communication, responsibility, experiential learning, cooperative learning, self-reliance, leadership skills, safety skills, resilience, self-esteem, initiative and other life skills.

The introduction of the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen and Garden Project into the Primary School for Years 3 and 4 began in April 2015.

St Mark’s Primary School became one of 824 schools Australia-wide enthusiastically getting their hands dirty and learning how to grow, harvest, prepare and share fresh, seasonal food.

The fundamental philosophy that underpins pleasurable food education is that by setting good examples and engaging children’s curiosity, as well as their energy and their taste buds, we can provide positive and memorable food experiences that will form the basis of positive lifelong eating habits.

Under the guidance of Mrs Tracey Toovey (Co-ordinator), Mrs Melinda Lewis (Gardener) and the Year 3 and 4 teachers endeavour to deliver regular kitchen and garden classes, enabling skills-based learning that extends across the entire school curriculum.

As participants in the Kitchen and Garden Program, the children will spend structured time in a productive veggie garden and home-style kitchen as part of their everyday school experience. There they learn skills that will last them a lifetime, and discover just how much fun it is to grow and cook their own seasonal vegetables and fruits.

We have enjoyed our participation in this initiative and honoured to be one of the last schools in Australia to be offered the opportunity to be part of this valuable program.

One of the off-shoots of the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen and Garden project is the sense of community that can be brought about when students, teachers and parents have a common project on which to work. We are now at the time when we are calling on the assistance of parent volunteers who feel passionately about promoting the project within the school community.

Becoming a Waste Wise Community

As part of the Sustainability project in the Primary School, St Mark's has received valuable funding from Waste Wise Schools– a program of the Waste Authority and funded through the Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Account.

Through this, the School has been able to implement a number of waste wise projects, including our compost bin, five worm farms, paper, battery and ring pull recycling, promotion of waste wise lunches and more. Our students have visited Tamala Park Resource Recovery Centre and have also had incurscions from the Water Corporation to look at waterwise gardening and the importance of keeping water ways healthy. Some of the actions undertaken since becoming a Waste Wise School include:

* Developing whole school waste minimisation action plans

* Undertaking regular waste audits

* Recycling and reusing

* Composting and building worm farms for cafeteria and garden waste.

* Developing waste wise gardens

* Zero waste lunches

* Reuse art

The Community Garden is a wonderful way to use the schoolyard as a classroom, reconnect students with the natural world and the true source of their food, and teach them valuable gardening and agriculture concepts and skills that integrate with several subjects, such as math, science, art, health and physical education, and social studies, as well as several educational goals, including personal and social responsibility.

In the long term, St Mark's aims to to develop in our students the skills, knowledge, values and motivation required to think critically about resource consumption and waste production and discover how their own choices, now and into the future, can help Western Australia use its resources more wisely

St Mark's believes that community service provides opportunities for young people to develop the values, skills and understandings needed to contribute to civic well being, and provide a practical demonstration of the School's five values - Respect, Knowledge, Confidence, Responsibility and Community.

Since the School's establishment in 1986, the School has supported local, interstate and international charities, with students taking the lead in identifying and responding to requests for both financial and practical support. By participating in community initiatives, St Mark’s students demonstrate they are active and involved citizens in our local community, and in wider society.

The community service initiatives at St Mark’s are often student-driven. Each incoming support proposal is reviewed by the student leadership body, made up of Prefects (including a dedicated Fundraising Prefect), Captains and the Student Council, with some guidance from the School. By involving our students in the decision making process when it comes to community service projects, they have the to opportunity connect personally with the causes they choose to support, often becoming ambassadors for the project amongst their peers.

Among the organisations supported by the students are Anglicare, Red Cross, Beyond Blue, Jeans for Genes Day, Daffodil Day, the Uthando Project, the World's Greatest Shave, St Mark's College in South Africa, the Red Shield Appeal, Jump Rope for Heart and others.

The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award

The world’s leading achievement award for young people, bringing together practical experiences & life skills to create committed global citizens & equipping young people for life.

St Mark's Anglican Community School – Award Unit

St Mark's is an Award Unit of this internationally recognised Award for young people. Coordinated by St Mark's Award Leader, Lorna Beegan, the Award enables our young people to take full advantage of the diverse opportunities offered by the Organisation. The Award is designed to be an individual challenge based on the unique interests of each Participant in the areas of Physical Recreation, Skill, Service and an Adventurous Journey.

This is an exciting world-wide program for young people between the ages of 14 and 25 and affords them the opportunity to stretch their imaginations, try different things, set new challenges and achieve goals beyond their expectations. It requires commitment and perseverance; but it is also about flexibility, choice, fun and reward. The program is not a competition; it is a personal challenge. Each Award level is a School Curriculum and Standards Authority Endorsed Program providing points that contribute towards a student’s WACE and is printed on their WACE Certificate. Universities and employers world-wide recognise the award and its prestigious reputation.

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award has three levels: Bronze, Silver and Gold. Each of these levels has four sections – Skills, Volunteering, Physical Recreation and Adventurous Journey. The Fold Award also has a Residential Project. Each year, the Award gives thousands of young people the chance to set and achieve personal challenges and to prove to themselves they can succeed in anything they turn their hand to . . . or their feet.

Participants in the Bronze Award design their own program by selecting activities that interest them, setting and achieving their goals through the following minimum requirements:

Bronze Award (minimum age 14 years)

Physical Recreation 3 months *

Skills 3 months *

Volunteering 3 months *

All participants must complete another 3 months in either Physical Recreation or Skills or Volunteering

Adventurous Journey 2 days & 1 night

Students at St Mark’s will find that their sport, debating, drama, music or other co-curricular commitments will meet the requirements for Physical Recreation and Skills components of the Award. The Year 10 Outdoor Education Camp will satisfy the Adventurous Journey and there are various volunteering positions available within the community. Students are encouraged to find their own volunteering commitment but assistance can be provided through the School.

If you would like further information on the Duke of Ed program at St Mark's, please contact Ms Lorna Beegan at lbeegan@stmarks.wa.edu.au

Mikono is Swahili for ‘hands’. Each year, St Mark’s offers Year 11 students the opportunity to travel to Iringa in the southern highlands of Tanzania. The aim is to offer helpful hands to our sisters and brothers in the Tanzanian Diocese of Ruaha and while giving students first hand experience of life in a developing country. The first Service Tour took place in 2014, and has become a rite of passage for Senior School students.

The Iringa area and the southern highlands is not one frequented by tourists, and residents face a variety of challenges, including limited opportunities to hear and learn English. As part of the work of the Anglican Church in the area, St Michael’s Secondary School in Kilolo is helping students to have a viable future through education, including the development of the student’s English language skills.

As part of the trip, St Mark’s students help support English-language learning at St Michael’s. In addition, Mikono participants also assist with some general maintenance works as needed, and learn more about other Diocesean initiatives in the region. Visits to Neema Craft, the Amani Bible College and the Legacy Academy (Primary School) also form part of the three week program.

Through the Ruaha Diocese, St Mark’s funds educational scholarships at St Michael's, aimed at giving disadvantaged students the opportunity to complete their education. In Tanzania, a Secondary School education is seen as a luxury, particularly in poverty-stricken areas. Schooling is expensive, and out of reach for low-income families.

As a school that has been blessed, St Mark’s is in a position to make a real contribution to the education of these Tanzanian students. It is our hope that through an ongoing, annual commitment, St Mark’s may prove to make a lasting impact on those we meet and work with in Tanzania.

The Junior School participates in both winter and summer sports through the Northern Independent Primary Schools Sports Association (NIPSSA). Students participate in Interschool Athletics, Swimming and Cross Country through NIPSSA and also enjoy a Winter Lightning Carnival and a Basketball Carnival.

St Mark’s is a member of the Associated & Catholic Colleges of WA (ACC), an independent secondary schools’ sports association. St Mark’s competes in the ACC's Coastal Associated Schools (CAS) region. St Mark's also participates in School Sports WA Champion School Sports (CSS) Carnivals during the year.